Take me to the Steps

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Twenty years ago, CDs reigned supreme as a preferred storage medium. However, with the onset of portable music players and streaming services, CDs have found themselves gathering dust in the corners of many a media library.

But that doesn’t mean they have to die there. While CDs might not be your go-to channel for installing software or listening to music anymore, they can still offer themselves as parts for new projects.

In the event that you find yourself with a CD you know you’ll never use again, you can pull off the foil backing, leaving you with a transparent disk perfect for art projects.

With some paint you can easily transform this obsolete disk into a faux stained glass sun catcher. Read on to follow along and make your own!

Project Steps

Get the CD ready

Make a tiny scratch on the CD. I had trouble getting the covering to come off without doing this.

Cover your CD with tape.

Peel of the top of CD

Peel off the tape. This can be kinda fun! One time I got it all to come off in one piece!

If you are left with little pieces still on the CD, just cover with a small piece of tape and pull off.

Determine your pattern

Find a design you’d like to use, or make your own and print it.

Tape the CD to the pattern you printed and trace with a marker on the CD.

Lay down the borders with puffy paint or hot glue

The first picture shows the design outlined in puffy paint.

As shown in the second picture, using black hot glue may give a prettier result.

Color with sun catcher paint

Sun catcher paint is very liquidy. Be careful not to fill to high. Don’t worry about it not looking even, once it dries it will look better.

Or use stained glass paint

Stained glass paint is thick. You need to take more care in getting the paint in all the corners.

Have fun!

Make whatever kind of design you’d like, have fun, and display your work proudly!